Top 5 Influences on Regional Cooking in the United States

Hawaii has a cuisine that's as varied and rich as the many nationalities who settled in "paradise." The food of Hawaii is influenced by Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Chinese, Portuguese and of course, Polynesian cuisine. The financially fruitful pineapple plantations made the spiny fruit a staple ingredient in Hawaiian cuisine. The laborers on pineapple and sugar cane plantations were from all of the aforementioned countries, and they all brought along the ingredients and recipes of their native lands. The Chinese brought fried rice, sweet and sour and dim sum. Open-fire Korean barbecue dishes found their way into the regional cuisine. Japanese sushi had a lot of influence, as did the Portuguese with their salted fish dishes. Spain contributed some spice, and the Philippines introduced fried foods, peas and beans. The culmination of all of these influences resulted in a delicious cuisine that's uniquely Hawaiian.